~ RA and VA navigate

Southern and Nothern fun

Memorial Day weekend went by quite quickly. (Aided by spending all of Memorial Day in a car.) The weekend started with an old friend and her mother surprising us with a visit. Yasmeen, who was around when my love for rock climbing took off, and her mom came down to not just enjoy the beach and gift us with their time but on top of that (oh how my heart still leaps with joy) her mother gifted me the knowledge of how to make a dish I once ate at her house YEARS ago and have dreamed about ever since.
Yasi’s mom originally comes from Iran and there they have a dish called Tadig which literally translates to “Bottom of the Pot”. It is a rice dish that mixes crispy with fluffy and can be flavored in a variety of ways. It is amazing, tasty, and texture-fabulous.
Yes, I like the crispy parts–I like the edges of the brownie pan, the melted cheese from enchiladas that have baked against the side of the dish, etc–I am my father’s daughter after all and do come by this food preference honestly.
Tadig is an easy enough dish to make but does have a fair few steps to get it just right. One thing I will mention here is if you have ever cooked your rice over the stove and didn’t like how sticky it came out, her trick involves placing a tea towel firmly under the lid to absorb the last bits of the steaming process. This is not rice making for those who live by their rice cooker. I have a whole page of notes on how to get things just right. What amazing guests to take one evening to teach about cooking. They were on vacation for crying out loud! No one should have to cook on their own vacation!!
Coincidentally Ryan had just heard on the radio that same week a discussion about how to make the same dish, thank you NPR. But as Ryan doesn’t like crispy rice he didn’t think to mention it or re-create it. Granted, I’ve never mentioned to him about this dish and how much I loved it so how could he know. I like to think he can read my mind, because he does so so effectively on so many occasions, but I think he is just rather observant.
Skip forward one week…
I’m now in the northern part of the state enjoying my first outside rotation. This facility is a CRNA only run facility and a nicer group of people I couldn’t have asked to work with. This is definitely a town though of southern charm and hospitality. Having lived in bigger cities for the majroity of my adult life I had forgotten what small town living could be like. Not that this town is THAT small, but they have really preserved that sentiment. People wave to each other, drive nicely, say hello and good morning to complete strangers and mean it when they say, “Have a nice day.”
Going back south might be a bit of a re-culture shock where as a whole, people are nice (that is true) but seems to be so much more self involved.
I’m not trying to idealize this place, it has many of its own problems with economic depression, high unemployment rates, lots of unhealthy health habits, and what not but maybe despite my best efforts I’m a small town girl at heart.
I do too, get to hear train horns at all times of day like I used to when I lived in my parents house.
My roommate is another classmate who comes from a different clinical hub. I haven’t seen her in a while and it has been nice to get to spend some time with her. Ryan being my only real roommate for the last, erm….decade… I was a little nervous how it might work out but so far so good.
We went tubing yesterday down Spring Creek into Chipola River. It was a 3-4 hour float, beautiful scenery, lots of other people lots of the way, a water moccasin citing (which was slightly terrifiying…), turtles (Including the cutest small snapping turtle hanging on to a brach that jutted out of the water. Did you know they could climb?), fish, birds, train tracks, sun shine, and all sorts of fun.
My roommate is hoping to get a second rotation here because she is enjoying it so much. They really encourage you to work independently and think through things yourself. Perhaps because they only have two students at a time and they aren’t splitting one preceptor between two students, they have the confidence to give us a little leash to work things out.
I think it would be a great place to come back to (in my 3rd or 4th semester) but I dislike being away from Ryan for so long. Now, if I could convince him to quit his job and come with me… but I don’t think there would be a whole lot he could do while I spend 12 hours a day during the week in the hospital. And that whole mentioning of the water moccasin will have eliminated any chance of getting him into the water, I do believe.
Speaking of that handsome man, he informed me that it was rainy down south yesterday and so he spent 2.25 hours on his trainer riding in the house. That is dedication. So, I’d say that his training is progressing well.
Fair warning, I may/not have a post next weekend. I’ll be heading back to Naples for the handsome man’s birthday and to visit with my brother and my future sister-in-law. That is a lot of driving which may not leave a lot of time for communication.
Hope these words find you and yours well.